MLB WORLD SERIES: ASTROS VS BRAVES

October 26, 2021

A.J. Minter

Travis D'arnaud

Minute Maid Park

Atlanta Braves

Postgame 1 Press Conference

Atlanta - 6, Houston - 2

Q. A.J., bittersweet, obviously. Charlie going down. You expected to pitch, but just not in that third inning of the World Series?

A.J. MINTER: It hurts losing Charlie. What he's been to this team all year, everyone knows Charlie. His career, he's a hero in the postseason. So it's definitely a blow losing him Game 1. But if you've been watching us all year, we've just been answering the bell and overcoming adversity all year.

We're just going to treat it the same way, next guy up. Coming in third inning, I just knew I was trying to cover as many innings as I possibly could. Wasn't just trying to be efficient, not trying to overthink it.

It's nice having Travis behind the plate. I completely trust him with all my heart. It's very seldom where I shake him off, and if I do shake him off, it's usually by design. So a great first game.

Q. Following that up, obviously you guys have overcome so much already this year. Are you just resigned to the fact that things might just keep happening and you're just going to have to keep overcoming things?

TRAVIS D'ARNAUD: Yeah. I mean, like you said, we've overcome every adversity that's come our way. I don't know how good that English was, I'm sorry.

(Laughter.)

Yeah, it's tough losing Charlie. The person he is in the clubhouse, the mentor he is in the clubhouse, especially this time of the year, is very valuable. For us to lose him in Game 1, it's a dagger, but he's still going to be there with us, cheering us on, and still trying to teach us everything that he's learned along his path and his career.

So it's just a little speed bump, but I believe that all of us are going to just stay together, stay tight, and just keep loving each other.

Q. Either of you guys, how inspiring or how gutty was that for Charlie to go back out there and get three outs after he got hit by that line drive and go out and strike Altuve out in the next inning? And also, A.J., I wanted to ask you, that's three multi-inning performances for you in the last week. Do you still have a lot left in the tank?

A.J. MINTER: Yeah, for sure. With Charlie going, just finishing that inning and going back out and facing the hitter, I mean, he struck out a guy on a broken leg. It's pretty remarkable. I wish it wouldn't have happened to Charlie. He's a leader. But like I said, we're not going to feel sorry for ourselves. We just have to keep going.

I've been joking around with the guys all year long, I felt like just turn me into a starter. I'm ready to go. No, like I said earlier, I wanted to go out there and just be as efficient as I could and help this bullpen out as best as I possibly can.

Q. Just for either of you, the performance of Luke Jackson, of course, last game, a little struggle there, but able to come back here and really pitch well in a big spot.

TRAVIS D'ARNAUD: Yeah, that was huge. That was huge for Luke. That was huge for our bullpen. I think it was on MLB Network, his numbers versus the Dodgers this year. I think that's the team that just had his number.

You're going to go through a whole season, and one team is just going to have your number. No matter what you do, you're going to try to mix up pitches, try to throw different pitches, maybe mix in a knuckleball, and they'll still have your number.

So for Jacks to come out, that's big for him mentally, and that's huge for our bullpen knowing that he's still there.

A.J. MINTER: Luke has been one of the best relievers in baseball, if not the best reliever in baseball all season long. For him to go out there -- even the first outing against the Dodgers he had, he executed every single pitch he wanted to, just bad luck. He's bounced back, like we know he would, and we're going to need him moving forward.

Q. Here you are two months later, do you guys still marvel at the value that Alex was able to get at the trade deadline when you look at everything that happened tonight?

TRAVIS D'ARNAUD: Yeah, definitely. Those moves just showed everybody in that clubhouse that he still believes in us, even when we were four games under .500, he didn't care. He showed us, and he showed the world that he still believed in us, and I think it lit a fire under us.

Shoot, to lead the game off, one of the guys he got had a World Series home run, to put us up 1-0 in Game 1. So it's pretty incredible.

Q. This is a question for both of you. Just your thoughts on how the bullpen has performed up to this point, and then the challenges that you face going forward workload-wise?

A.J. MINTER: Bullpen, we're feeling confident. I feel like it took us a while to get going, definitely. I feel like we struggled, including myself, the first half of the season. I got sent down to Triple-A. But I feel like we came together at the right time, and we're clicking on all cylinders, and we're feeling very confident right now in the bullpen.

TRAVIS D'ARNAUD: Every single person in that bullpen has a huge heart, has huge fight. I don't know if I'm supposed to say this, but they've all got big nuts too, and there's nothing more you want as a catcher is to know that everybody loves each other and everybody picks each other up and they're not afraid of anyone.

I think going forward, I think we're going to be just fine. We've had these bullpen games during the year. I think the days off after tomorrow is going to be very beneficial, whereas last year it was seven days in a row when we did go through a little bullpen game in Game 3. So it kind of ate us up a little different.

Yeah, it's an honor working with these guys. They all fight. They all work hard every day, and they're all ready to throw every day.

Q. Travis, did you see any noticeable change in Charlie after he got hit by Gurriel or during that inning? I know that you came up in the top of that inning, but did you think he was going to be on the short -- that he might have to come out of the game early after that?

TRAVIS D'ARNAUD: Yeah, when the inning was over, we meet and talk about what's going on. He said, oh, that one got me good. He was kind of walking a little funny. I didn't think it was broken. I just thought he took a line drive off of his leg. But to go out there and strike out the next guy with a broken leg, it blows my mind. It blows my mind.

Q. Travis, two things. Soler's leadoff home run, how big of a lift was that in the dugout? Did you guys feel just getting an early jump like that? Secondly, your offense has been clicking so good for so long, tonight everybody got a hit in the lineup. How about that?

TRAVIS D'ARNAUD: Yeah, everybody knows what it's like to grow up thinking about playing in the World Series. I mean, I'm sure everybody was a little anxious when the game started, and for Soler to put us up 1-0, I think just let everyone relax and breathe and just reminded us to be ourselves. Soler did that during the year, put us up 1-0 in the first inning. Obviously, Acuna did that many times for us this year as well.

But for all of us to get a hit today is pretty cool. That's a really cool stat, especially against the great pitching staff that the Astros have. That's huge with Game 2 coming up tomorrow, and we can just ride that momentum.

Q. What was your guys' reaction when you heard that Charlie broke his leg? Were you able to talk to him after the game or during the game?

A.J. MINTER: I got to see him whenever I got through with my first inning. I went up to the locker room real quick, and I heard the news. You could tell he was devastated, but he wasn't going to show it. He's been -- like I said, he's been the leader of this starting rotation, and I know all the guys look up to him. He's great for the young guys.

It's definitely a blow, but we just can't -- we've got to forget about it, unfortunately, and just keep moving on.

TRAVIS D'ARNAUD: I haven't seen him. I can't wait to give him a hug.

Q. Travis, you've caught a lot of pitchers in a lot of different situations. Have you ever even heard of a pitcher throwing 16 pitches with a broken leg?

TRAVIS D'ARNAUD: No. I wouldn't think it's possible.

Q. What was the old record, one pitch?

TRAVIS D'ARNAUD: Maybe one pitch, and it probably went to the backstop. That's pretty incredible. It's incredible that he even like thought of going out there, and I bet you it was so A.J. could have some more time to get ready. He sacrificed himself.

I don't think he knew it was broken right away, but he knew it was hurting. For him to sacrifice himself to make sure A.J. was ready and for him to strike out Altuve is incredible.

Q. What is it about Charlie Morton that makes that possible for him to do what he did?

TRAVIS D'ARNAUD: I think he cares about everybody in the clubhouse. Everybody knows his pedigree, and you wouldn't expect somebody with that pedigree to be that humble and that down to earth, that caring about every little detail about everybody, not just baseball, but their lives, their families.

So it's definitely a tough, tough break for us. Like I said, I can't wait to see him and give him a hug.